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In the law courts past
time is of most importance, since all accusations
are concerned with what has actually been done,
while what is being done or is likely to be done is
inferred from the past. We also enquire into origins.
For instance, we enquire whether a pestilence be
due to the anger of heaven, the inclement weather,
the pollution of the water-supply, or the noxious
vapours emitted by the earth. Again, we seek for
the motives of an act. For example, we enquire
whether the fifty kings who sailed against Troy did
so because they were bound by their oath, or were
moved to do so by righteous indignation, or merely
desired to gratify the sons of Atreus. There is no
very great difference between these two classes of
question.
Quintilian. With An English Translation. Harold Edgeworth Butler. Cambridge. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1922.
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